Black gives nod to O'Sullivan for spring opener

By William Boor / MLB.com

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Padres manager Bud Black was reluctant to name the team's Opening Day starter, but he did announce that Sean O'Sullivan will start the team's Spring Training opener on Friday against the Seattle Mariners.

"Seeing Sean from afar, obviously heard the name being a San Diego kid, and [he] was a highly-regarded high school player, but the thing that stood out for me when I saw him this winter at Petco [was that] he looks in great shape. Really determined to make his mark. He's been with a couple different teams with some varied success, but there is a determined look in his eye, which is great."

O'Sullivan has not pitched in a Major League game since 2011 and has a career record of 10-14 with a 6.13 ERA.

Adys Portillo and Thad Weber will pitch in Friday's game as well. Both Portillo and Weber went 8-11 in the Minor Leagues last season. Weber posted a 4.42 ERA in 25 games, while Portillo's ERA was 3.34.

Tyson Ross, whom the Padres acquired via an offseason trade with Oakland, will start on Saturday.

Ross went 2-11 in 18 games (13 starts) for the Athletics in 2012, posting a 6.50 ERA.

Volquez gearing up to pitch in Classic

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Just as he did in 2009, Edinson Volquez will pitch for the Dominican Republic in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

The 29-year old will report to Miami on March 2, where he will practice with the Dominican Republic for a few days before the team begins pool play on March 7 in Puerto Rico against Venezuela.

"That's the one position you have to really monitor," Padres manager Bud Black said about having one of his starting pitchers leaving Spring Training to participate.

Volquez was 11-11 with a 4.14 ERA in 2012, and Black wants to make sure the right-hander gets his work in while representing his country.

"You want to make sure they're pitching," Black said. "From a competitive standpoint, you want to make sure your guys are pitching. If they do happen to struggle, there might be a tendency for a country to not pitch their guy, so we have to make sure they are still pitching."

Since the Classic is so competitive, Volquez will be focusing on getting hitters out, rather than working on a specific pitch or location, as is common during Spring Training. To ensure he gets some work in with the Padres, and to make sure he is ready for the Classic, Black said Volquez will throw twice with the Padres prior to his March 2 departure.

Maybin remains limited with sore right wrist

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Center fielder Cameron Maybin expected to be ready for Monday's workout after missing Saturday's first full-squad session with a sore right wrist, but that was not the case.

"It's getting better," said Maybin, whose wrist also bothered him in 2012. "I'm going to take a couple days, let it get right and get back at it."

Although the 25-year old said he could play if it were the regular season, he is not putting a timetable on his return. He is simply doing as much as he can, eagerly awaiting a full recovery.